Juelz Santana has explained why his and Lil Wayne‘s long-awaited collaborative album I Can’t Feel My Face has yet to get a major label release.
Speaking to VladTV, the Harlem native discussed the politics that got in the way of him and Weezy dropping their album.
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In the mid-2000s, Juelz Santana and Lil Wayne had fans in a frenzy with reports of a joint album on the horizon, however nothing came to light. There ended up being a version of the album that leaked online, and there was very little fanfare compared to what there could have been had the project got a full release.
“Me and Wayne, just like normal, we did a bunch of records together,” Juelz explained. “A project worth got leaked. About 20 records did get leaked out there, which is the I Can’t Feel My Face you see. Politics wise, we didn’t get to put the album out on a major label because there was too much politics at the time, and you had Def Jam, Universal, Cash Money and Diplomats, you know what I’m saying.
“Four different entities that had to come upon an agreement and come under one accord to push a project. As you see, Wayne was supposed to drop an album with T-Pain, the T-Wayne album. That album never came out. Just so you know, it wasn’t a Juelz and Wayne [situation].”
He added: “That time, like the way you get projects now from big artists, you didn’t get back in the day around our time because it was so much involved for you to get that. It was never about the artists, we were cool, and we was making music together. It was way bigger than us. We didn’t have the end-all control. See, now it’s a lot less. That’s why you can have a Durk and Lil Baby, you can have Drake and Future.”
Juelz went on to explain the theme of the project was to keep the idea of collaborative albums going with other artists. I Can’t Feel My Face was intended to be a series of projects and Wayne and Juelz would’ve handled the first edition, while the following installments would include two other superstar rappers.
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Unfortunately, label politics and the strict rules in place at the time faltered those plans, however Juelz and Wayne still remained good friends and have recorded other material together.
According to Juelz, it isn’t a matter of will I Can’t Feel My Face drop, but when. “We actually got music recorded right now, so as far as an I Can’t Feel My Face project, me and Wayne, it’s never to the point to where it’s like is it ever coming out. It can come out tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Lil Wayne was recently honored with his very own exhibit at the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) for his 40th birthday.
According to an official press release, the NMAAM in Nashville, Tennessee, opened an event for people to view artifacts provided by Weezy, such as his Grammy for Rap Album of the Year, his BET “I Am Hip-Hop” Award, a handwritten letter from Rikers Island and an original CD of his major label debut album, Tha Block Is Hot.
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Students attending the exhibit can also hear a virtual speech from Lil Wayne as well as live music. There’s also be an interactive portion of the exhibit where people can record themselves reciting Lil Wayne’s lyrics in a rap booth set up by the NMAAM.
